The pentecostal principle : ethical methodology in new spirit

304 Pages·2012·2.796 MB·English

by  Wariboko, Nimi

James K. A. Smith and Amos Yong, Editors

PENTECOSTAL MANIFESTOS will provide a forum for exhibiting the next
generation of Pentecostal scholarship. Having exploded across the globe in the
twentieth century, Pentecostalism now enters its second century. For the past
fifty years, Pentecostal and charismatic theologians (and scholars in other
disciplines) have been working "internally," as it were, to articulate a distinctly
Pentecostal theology and vision. The next generation of Pentecostal scholarship
is poised to move beyond a merely internal conversation to an outwardlooking
agenda, in a twofold sense: first, Pentecostal scholars are increasingly gaining
the attention of those outside Pentecostal/ charismatic circles as Pentecostal
voices in mainstream discussions; second, Pentecostal scholars are moving
beyond simply reflecting on their own tradition and instead are engaging in
theological and cultural analysis of a variety of issues from a Pentecostal
perspective. In short, Pentecostal scholars are poised with a new boldness:
• Whereas the first generation of Pentecostal scholars was careful to learn the
methods of the academy and then "apply" those to the Pentecostal tradition,
the next generation is beginning to interrogate the reigning methodologies
and paradigms of inquiry from the perspective of a unique Pentecostal
worldview.
• Whereas the first generation of Pentecostal scholars was faithful in applying
the tools of their respective trades to the work of illuminating the phenomena
of modern Pentecostalism, the charismatic movements, and (now) the global
renewal movements, the second generation is expanding its focus to bring a
Pentecostal perspective to bear on important questions and issues that are
concerns not only for Pentecostals and charismatics but also for the whole
church.
• Whereas the first generation of Pentecostal/ charismatic scholars was
engaged in transforming the anti-intellectualism of the tradition, the second
generation is engaged in contributing to and even impacting the
conversations of the wider theological academy.
PENTECOSTAL MANIFESTOS will bring together both high-profile scholars
and newly emerging scholars to address issues at the intersection of Pentecostal
ism, the global church, the theological academy, and even broader cultural
concerns. Authors in PENTECOSTAL MANIFESTOS will be writing to and
addressing not only their own movements but also those outside of Pentecostal/
charismatic circles, offering a manifesto for a uniquely Pentecostal perspective
on various themes. These will be "manifestos" in the sense that they will be bold
statements of a distinctly Pentecostal interjection into contemporary discussions
and debates, undergirded by rigorous scholarship.
Under this general rubric of bold, programmatic "manifestos," the series will
include both shorter, crisply argued volumes that articulate a bold vision within a
field as well as longer scholarly monographs, more fully developed and
meticulously documented, with the same goal of engaging wider conversations.
Such PENTECOSTAL MANIFESTOS are offered as intrepid contributions with
the hope of serving the global church and advancing wider conversations.
PUBLISHED
James K. A. Smith, Thinking in Tongues: Pentecostal Contributions to
Christian Philosophy (2010)
Frank D. Macchia, Justified in the Spirit: Creation, Redemption, and the
Triune God (2010)
Wolfgang Vondey, Beyond Pentecostalism: The Crisis of Global Christianity
and the Renewal of the Theological Agenda (2010)
Amos Yong, The Spirit of Creation: Modern Science and Divine Action in the
Pentecostal-Charismatic Imagination (2011)
Nimi Wariboko, The Pentecostal Principle: Ethical Methodology in New Spirit
(2011)
Ethical Methodology in New Spirit
Nimi Wariboko

Preface viii
Introduction 1
1. The Pentecostal Principle 42
2. Emergence and Ethics: The Ethos of Pneumatological
Methodology 71
3. Many Tongues of Pentecost: Ethical Methodology as a Paradigm of
Pluralism 107
4. The Pentecostal Spirit: Way of Being for the Pentecostal
Principle 130
5. The Promise of the Pentecostal Principle: Religion as Play 161
Epilogue: The End Which Is to Come 196
Bibliography 215
Acknowledgments 224
Index 226
There was one Easter; there are millions of Pentecosts.
Jose Comblin, The Holy Spirit and Liberation'
This book is first and foremost an engaged pentecostal-theological intervention
in the methodology of social ethics. Arguing that the pneumatological dynamic
is central to ethical methodology, it brings pentecostal experience and ideas into
dialogue with the broader academy, with mainstream theological and
philosophical scholarships, and other voices outside the tradition. It follows the
recent efforts of leading pentecostal theologians to expand the horizon of
pentecostal scholarship and to invite those outside the movement to seriously
consider pentecostal voices, perspectives, and proposals in their theologies,
philosophies, and ethics.
This study formulates the central pneumatological dynamic as the pentecostal
principle - the capacity of social existence to begin something new. The
pentecostal principle is a synthesis of both the Protestant principle and the
Catholic substance and the animating force toward a theonomous connection of
culture with the divine depth of existence. On the basis of a rigorous elucidation
and defense of the pentecostal principle, I formulate a method of ethics that
explicitly thinks through and out of the pentecostal reality. I show how the
pentecostal experience and spirituality can be brought into the field of ethical
methodology with a serious en gagement with major conversational partners at
the vanguard of public theology, social ethics, political theology, philosophy, and
ethics in general. In particular, the book is a creative and constructive work on
ethical methodology, yet clearly informed by pentecostalism as understood not
only in terms of the global movement but also in terms of the Day of Pentecost
symbol, and it is consistent with the major thrusts of recent pentecostal academic
theology.
The book argues that ethical methodology (engagement) must assume the
mode of cultural criticism, social creativity, and political engagement in which
we should resist commitment to any knowledge-machinery that only works to
understand the world but not to change it, and instead we must provoke moral